Thursday, September 4, 2014

*Gizmos Early Reviews* Red Blooded (Jessica McClain #4) by Amanda Carlson

**I received this book free from the Orbit & NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

*Synopsis*

After Jessica's brother is kidnapped and taken to the Underworld, she will stop at nothing to get him back. But before her grueling training is finished, Jessica's power mixes unexpectedly with the circle and she's dropped into the Underworld without protection or her escorts.

*My Thoughts*

Red Blooded (Jessica McClain #4) picks up where Cold Blooded left off, which is why you SHOULD NOT jump into this book without reading the previous installments first. If you have read the previous installment, you know that Jessica's brother Tyler has been taken to the Underworld by the Prince of Hell who wants Jessica to pay for some unnamed crimes. It is up to Jessica and crew to rescue him, and find a way back home. The question remains, what exactly are Jessica's crimes, and why now when the supernatural world is in turmoil?

When Jessica travels to the Underworld, she finds herself without any help from Rourke, or her allies for a large part of the story. She faces a bizarre world filled with demons in jumpsuits, scaly-pig like creatures, chupacabras, and wyverns. While searching for a way to rescue Tyler, she also must avoid becoming a tool in a much larger game that is being played out, while trusting her instincts, her wolf, and a powerful being who may be too good to be true. She also faces a familiar face who she thought would be dead by now, and ends up being thrown a major fate twist and game changing moment.

Jessica is slowly, painfully learning about the supernatural world she belongs to, and the dangers that she faces as the only female werewolf in existence. Her conversations with her wolf are telling. The Wolf wants Jessica to stop thinking so much, while doing more. Jessica, meanwhile, continues to try to hang on to her humanness and not lose her self completely to the world that is pushing her to her limits. I say good luck to you, Jessica. I hope everything works out for you.

I am not a huge fan of most romances, but I truly wish that Rourke and Jessica would find more time to be together. Ever since fate mated them, they haven't had a whole lot of enjoyment time to themselves. I will say that Ray has become one of the more interesting characters in this series. While Tyler, Danny, Tally, Marcy, Naomi, and even the Vampire Queen Eudoxia play their parts as expected and others are added to Jessica's three ring circus, Ray may be the unknown quantity that brings everything together. This coming from a character that I wanted to see hit the road and never come back again not too long ago. 

It is hard to predict if a story will live up to its billing until you actually receive the book and start reading it. You know that eventually, there will come a time when a story won't truly be amazing, or action packed. For me, Red Blooded is the weakest link in the series so far. That is by no means a slight towards Amanda Carlson, nor does it mean I will stop reading the series because of a few personal issues. Jessica is still one of my favorite heroines, and I expect great things before the series ends. While Red Blooded has its moments, and opens up questions about the mysterious Coalition, there is still a whole lot of unnecessary lag time with overly talkative characters. The book kind of ends early, and then there is the whole cliffhanger ending which is to be expected. Less advertisements, more story please! 

Next up: Pure Blooded (Jessica McClain #5) releasing in 2015.  

Author - Amanda Carlson Title - Red Blooded (Jessica McClain # 4) Published by Orbit Releases - September 9, 2014 Genre: Urban Fantasy Format: E-Galley 320 pages




2 comments:

  1. I can't wait to read this book. I've loved this series since book one. Jessica is a great character and I love the world that Amanda has built around her. Great review.

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  2. This was a 3-star read for me as well, I just typed up my review yesterday, but it won't be posting until early October. I thought that Carlson did way more 'telling' than 'showing' in this book, and I don't like the new direction she's taking, so I have decided to call this series quits unfortunately.

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